| "RECESSION" DEFIED! While indicative lines on the nation's business graphs staggered generally toward bottom margins last winter, Col. Tim McCoy, U.S. Reserve, of Hollywood, California and Big Horn, Wyoming launched a half-million dollar enterprise. |
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Col. Tim McCoy's Real Wild West 1938
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6 comments:
My younger kid is auditioning for Annie Get Your Gun this week. So of course his evil parent forced him to sit through the Betty Hutton film last night. (When I downloaded it I realized that I'd I'd actually watched it in color before, only seen it in black & white on television in the '60's.) He was smart enough to duck out of the room before I made him watch GSOE to compare Hutton's two back to back roles. Anyway, I know some very smart marketing people who know nothing about "showbusiness" and evrything about selling pop culture. And for several years now they've been convinced that Professional Rodeo just needs the right "superstar" (there's that word again) to become as big as NASCAR. (PeTA's worst nightmare.) I have no clue as to whether the right star will come along say in the next five years, but if it happens I do wonder if it might breath life back into some version of the Wild West Show? Clearly political sensibilities would never allow the indians to attack the Deadwood stage, or if they did they'd have to win. But the riding, roping, shooting, whip tricks and all that are something audiences haven't seen in a long, long time and might be fresh all over again. Stranger things have happened.
Mr. Trumble,
I believe your thinking of a resurgence in wild west shows is on track. There is also a man already involved with PRCA who thinks you are on to something as well. He has hired my show-biz retired uncle to train several animal acts for just this type of show. I am anxious to see if it all turns into something.
Mr Cainan. It'll be interesting to see what might come of such a show. The marketing people I've heard talk about the possibilities of PRCA are all long time vets of NASCAR marketing and they really believe that rodeo could take off with the same kind of telegenic media savvy stars that racing has produced over the last twenty years. If it happened, the western show format as an entertainment and an offshoot of a surge of interest in PRCA has a certain logic to it. There are plenty of places where such a show could play either indoors or in front of a grandstand, and it would make a great outdoor "family show" playing the Indian mega-casinos popping up all over.
The rodeo people have the same problem with PeTA as do the circuses and zoos. A couple of years ago I hade a rodeo clown visit the antiques mall and his wife told of the pickets everyday and how she took their dog out for it's several walks each day, until one of the PeTA protesors walked up to her and asked if their trailer was airconditioned and why she walked the dog. The outcome was that the protestor left PeTA, signs and all.
Bob Kitto
Mr. Kitto,
I disagree, I don't believe rodeos feel the same "heat" from Peta, or any other activists, as does the circus industry. Yes, they may on occasion be picketed, they rarely feel any pressure from legislation agendas of such groups. The reason for this is simple really. More rich and powerful people own horses and eat cows. It is much easier to solicit donations to "Save Jumbo" the exploited elephant, then the "Save Daisy the Holstein" campaign.
Unfortunately in order to make PRCA rodeos strictly a "SPORT EVENT" they have eliminated contract acts to a certain degree and now have shot themselves more in not even having rodeos as such in that they have only "bull riding". What a shame. Now bear in mind they don't have to pay for "acts". Circus producers use the animal rights people as an excuse for not bringing cats or elephants when its obvious they cut their expense. Too bad.The public suffers. Plus the acts.
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